Puddling and boiling furnace



B. HOGAN. Paddling and Boiling Furnace.

Patented Jan13,l880.

I W U R 7M- 767%, A W J.-

messes NPEIERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPMEE WASHINGTON, D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BERNARD ROGAN, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

PUDDLING AND BOILING FURNACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 223,610, dated January 13, 1880. Application filed April 5, 1879.

To all whom it may concern Be itknown that I, BERNARD ROGAN,Of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Puddlin g and Boiling Furnaces; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descrip tion thereof, reference being bad to the accompanyin g drawings, forming a part of this speci- IO float-ion, in which Figure "l is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 00 a, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line y y, Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is a side view, partly broken away.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

My invention relates to certain improvements in furnaces for decarburizing and purifying cast or pig iron to form it into wrought-iron or malleable iron, generally termed reverberatory or puddling furnaces. Heretofore these furnaces have generally been made with a puddling-chamber, in which the pig metal was first melted and then boiled or puddled, to convert it into wrought-iron, and with a line leading downwardly to the stack, the back of the downwardly-inclined flue serving to reflect back the heat into the puddling-chamber. After one heat was madethemetal for the next heat was placed in the puddling-chamber, and about half an hour was consumed in melting it before it was ready for puddling. Different constructions of furnaces have been tried for the purpose of saving this time consumed in melting the metal, so that the operation of puddling would be practically continuous. The object of my invention is to improve the construction of puddling-furnaces to accomplish this result.

It consists in a puddling'furnace provided with an auxiliary melting-chamber for melting the pig metal before it is conducted to the puddling-chamber, said chamber being placed in the neck of the furnace, and separated from the puddling'chamber by a wall, through which is formed a tapping-hole for conducting the melted metal from themelting into the puddling chamber, and being raised above and upwardly inclined from the paddling-chamber to the stack, and with a sliding damper placed between this auxiliary melting-chamber and the stack, by which the heat of the furnace is controlled, and which reflects the heat back into the melting-chamber and adds greatly to its heat.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe its construction and operation.

In the drawings, A is the grate or fire chamber of the furnace, which may be of any desired construction, being provided with the usual feed or fire hole a. B is the main or puddling chamber, which is separated from the grate by the fire-bridge b.

The bed 0 of the puddling-chamber may be formed of plates of castiron, and surrounded-p5 with water or air tubes, or any other suitable means for cooling and protecting the metal from the heat of the furnace, and is covered with a suitable fix or lining. The main chamber is provided with the working-door d and tap hole 0. These parts may be of the usual or any known construction of puddling-furnaces, and it is not necessary to describe them further.

Between the puddling-chamber and'stack, in the place usually occupied by the neck, I form an auxiliary chamber, F, for melting the iron preparatory to puddling. This chamber F is raised above the puddlirig-chamber, and is upwardly inclined at a slight angle toward the stack, so that a much stronger draft is obtained through the melting-ch amber than in the downward or horizontal flue usual in pLuldling-furnaces, the chamber F terminat-- ing in the flue L, which is built at about the same upward inclination, so that it will in no way impede the draft. The bed G of this chamber is formed of one or moreplates ofcastiron supported on suitable pillars H, and is raised above the bed of the main chamber, and upwardly inclined at a slight angle toward the stack, so thatthe melted metal will flow from the melting into the puddling chamber. It is covered with a suitable fix or lining to protect it from the heat. The sides of the meltingchamber are drawn together, so as to make it narrower, and the chamber is made shallower than the puddlingchamber, so that the heat and blaze, in passing through the chamber upwardly toward the stack, will be drawn tohole is closed by a ball of fix while the metal is being melted, which can be removed by the poker when the main chamber is to be charged. On one side of the melting-chamber is formed a door, Ir, for charging it with metal, and working the metal when melting. At the end of the chamber F is a fire-bridge, I, leading to the flue L, above referred to.

The furnace-stack M is built of tire-brick, and, if desired, incased with iron to strengthen it. At the base of the stack, next to the chamber F, is placed the damper N, working in suitable guides at. This damper is faced with fire brick to protect it from they heat, and slides back and forth in the guides across the flue L, so that the flue may be entirely closed or left as far open as desired in regulating the heat of the furnace. By the use of this damper N in the flue between the melting-chamber and stack the heat of the furnace can be regulated without the damper at the top, and when the damper is partially closed it adds greatly to the heat of the melting-chamber by reflecting back the heat in the same manner as the downwardly-inclined flue usual in puddling-furnaces.

The mode of operation of my improved furnace is as follows: The iron is puddled or boiled in the main chamber B in the usual way of carrying on said operation, the heat and flame passing up over the tire-bridge and purifying the iron, the usual flux being thrown in during the operation. In the usual construction of furnaces about half an hour has been consumed in melting the pig metal be fore the decarburizing process commenced. To save this time, during the puddliug of one heat I charge the melting-chamber F with the pig metal or blooms forming the next heat through the workingdoorlc, having previously closed the tapping-hole 'i with fix. The heat and flame passing from the main chamber B over the wall fon its way through the chamber F to the stack are drawn together by the walls of the narrow chamber, and thrown against the metal by the low roof, generating a high heat, amply sufficient to melt the metal, the heat being greatly increased by the strong draft obtained through the upwardly-inclined chamber. The metal is gradually melted, the pigs and blooms being worked into the line of draft and heat by the puddler or helper, and the whole charge stirred and worked by him until brought to a perfectly fluid state, and gathering at the base of the chamber near the bridge-wall f. As soon as the heat then bein g worked by the puddler has been removed from the main chamber and the bed prepared for the next charge the fix is removed from the tapping-hole i in the bridge-wall f by the poker, and the melted metal forming the charge flows from the melting-chamber into the puddling-chamber, the entire charge being emptied from the upwardly-inclined bed G. The puddling or boiling process is then proceeded with in the main chamber without waiting for the melting of the metal, saving at least half an hour during each heat, and the melting-chamber is charged at the proper time with the metal for the next heat.

During the puddlin g process the heat of the furnace is regulated by the damper N across the flue L. By this damper the furnace can be controlled as accurately as by means of the damper at the top of the stack, and with less labor to the workman.

When the damper is partially closed the heat is reflected back from it into the meltingchamber in the same manner as from the back wall of the downward flue of a paddling-furnace, and greatly intensities the heat in that chamber.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In apuddling-furnace, the combination of the puddling-chamber B, the melting-chamber F in the neck of the furnace, between the puddling-chamber and stack, raised above the puddlingchamber and upwardly-inclined toward the stack, and the damper N, placed between the melting-chamber and stack, and sliding in suitable guides a, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said BERNARD ROGAN, have hereunto set my hand.

BERNARD HOGAN.

Witnesses:

T. G. KAY, JAMES I. KAY. 

